New York City/Expanded History of New York
__TOC__ Preface Below is an attempt to document the many detailed events of New York City's history on Earth-616, due to the largest amount of super-human and costumed adventures active throughout it's history many events have occurred here ranging from trivial scuffles to potentially world shattering events that have changed the course of human history. Presumably, the history of New York City more or less mirrors that of it's real world counterpart. The scope of this article is to document events that are unique to Earth-616. For more information on the history of New York City, consult Wikipedia. The data below is divided up by relevant points of history. American Frontier (1600-1910) In the 1600s, what later became called New York was originally settled by Dutch immigrants. These immigrants were greeted by time traveler Wolf Turber a robot from the future of Earth-TRN215 who sought to conquer the Earth. He attempted to subvert the Dutch immigrants in 1649 to his cause, but they saw through his duplicity and chased him away. Wolf then traveled forward to the distant future. Turber, however had previously attempted to conquer the Earth in the year 1780. There he tried to betray the American army to the British during the final years of the Revolutionary War. Here too Turber's duplicity was exposed forcing him to travel back to the year 1600. 20th Century time traveller Tommy Tyme travelled back to the years 1790 and 1860 in order to learn how children behaved in those eras. 20th Century Pre-World War II The years leading up to the outbreak of World War II saw the dawn of the first "Age of Heroes" that lasted throughout the course of the 2nd World War. At the time, Frontier gunslinger and time traveller Matthew Liebowicz, formally known as the Two-Gun Kid was placed in this era by the heroes of the Modern Age when Liebowicz grew too old for costumed adventuring. By 1938 he was placed in a hospice under the care of renown doctor Thomas Halloway. Prior to his death, Liebowicz foretold the coming of the Age of Heroes to Halloway who dismissed it to the delusions of a sick old man. Following Liebowicz's death, his pistols and mask were given to Halloway with a note advising Thomas that he would play a role in things to come. 1939 By late 1939, New York City was the birthplace of the age of heroes when Professor Phineas Horton unveiled his newest invention, the android dubbed the Human Torch. When the Torch accidentally escaped his confinement and unintentionally rampaged through the city causing fire and destruction, the city was in a state of panic. The Torch was later manipulated by a criminal named Anthony Sardo for his arson schemes, but the Torch eventually gained control of his powers and slew Sardo and eventually became a hero. During the Torch's initial "rampage" through the city, Thomas Halloway came to the aid of citizens fleeing the fires and this inspired him to become a costumed hero himself, dubbing himself the Angel. Threats to the city were of the typical criminal element, the most notorious being the Six Big Men, a crime cartel that was wiped out by the Angel. The biggest threat to New York City at the time came from the Atlantean prince the Sub-Mariner who chose New York City for the staging ground for his lone invasion of the surface world for its transgressions against his people in Atlantis, leading to a clash with the NYPD. Namor's first attack caused chaos across the city, notably through Central Park, Fifth Avenue, East River and Dell View Hospital. World War II 1940 By 1940 a number of costumed heroes appeared on the scene in New York, notably Fiery Mask, Monako the Magician, Phantom Bullet, Mr. E, Laughing Mask (who later briefly operated as Purple Mask), private detective the Ferret, Professor Philo Zog and his robot Electro, the detectives known as the Three Xs, the intelligent Mastermind Excello, Phantom Reporter, and the Black Widow. Costumed and super-powered criminals active during this period included the so-called Zombie Master (stopped by Fiery Mask, although this story may have been entirely fictitious), black arts practitioner Mr. Muro (Stopped by Monako), a cult led by the sadistic Sacred One (stopped by the Angel), the Vampire (stopped by Mr. E), the Green Terror (stopped by the 3Xs), among others. The city also became a target for Nazi spies, many of whom were active throughout the city. The Sub-Mariner returned briefly to wreak havoc as well, but was convinced by police woman Betty Dean to focus his aggression on the Nazis instead. Mastermind Excello also stopped a Nazi attempt to sabotage a number of US "super-power plants", one of which was located just outside the city. The city fell under siege by the mad scientist Doctor Manyac and his army of Green Flames who briefly controlled the city until they were stopped by the Human Torch. The city was also saved from destruction by the protoplasmic creation of Frances Dork by Fiery Mask. The Sub-Mariner soon returned to New York City seeking to prove that he was a friend to humanity now, however he was arrested for his previous murder of a police officer. Still he attempted to prove he had reformed by helping the NYPD capture criminal Mills Gilligan. However the Sub-Mariner was still incarcerated and was sentenced to the death penalty. The Sub-Mariner however broke free from prison and vowed to renew his aggressions against the surface world. Around this time, the Human Torch joined the NYPD becoming it's first super-powered police officer. What followed was one of the most historic crises to hit New York of the time: The Sub-Mariner took over the Statue of Liberty and used it as his staging ground for his renewed attack on the city. The Sub-Mariner attacked New York Harbour, the EL Train, and the Empire State Building. In response to this, the NYPD assigned the Human Torch to capture the Sub-Mariner and halt his attacks on the city. However, the Sub-Mariner continued his reign of terror by flooding the Hudson Tunnel, setting animals free from the Brooklyn Zoo before causing more damage to the Empire State Building. The Torch finally caught up to the Sub-Mariner and battled him on the Brooklyn Bridge, but Namor ultimately escaped. The two ultimately went to the Tropy Chemical Plant to use chemical means to stop each other, leading to another clash that ended in a stalemate. Betty Dean managed to convince the two titans to cease their fighting and talked Namor into leaving New York and return to his home in Atlantis. Eventually, these new protectors of the city often worked against the wishes of authorities or were manipulated into becoming menaces to society. Such as when control of the robot Electro was briefly usurped by criminal Boss Sapro. The Torch was also briefly outlawed when he used his flame powers to quarantine the slums of the city to prevent any further outbreak of a plague strickening the city . But he soon redeemed himself in the eyes of the law and the public by taking down the notorious racketeer known only as J.B. The city was also briefly on the alert when the jungle adventurer known as Ka-Zar was on the rampage while searching for his friend Zar the lion, who had been captured by poachers from his home in the Belgian Congo and sold to the Brooklyn Zoo. Ka-Zar was briefly apprehended, but released into the custody of Dr. Wilson and his daughter. However, the Wilson family ultimately assisted Ka-Zar in freeing Zar from the Zoo and smuggled him out of the city in a ship heading back to Africa. 1941 By 1941, the number of super-humans that were in operation in New York City expanded. Most predominantly active were the previously established Human Torch, his partner Toro, the Sub-Mariner, and the Angel. Other new heroes appeared such as the Blue Diamond, the Eternal called Hurricane, the Whizzer, Young Avenger and the often persecuted Jack Frost. New York City was also the secret location for the final stages of the United States government experiment known as Operation Rebirth, that turned young Steve Rogers into Captain America. Shortly after Captain America's birth, his sidekick Bucky formed the Young Allies a team of patriotic youths selected from the Sentinels of Liberty fan-club. Their club house was also located in New York City. Primarily, the city was mostly beleaguered by Nazi and Japanese spies as well as more domestic crimes, such as bank robbers, racketeers, and the like. However, as in previous years the city was no stranger to strange menaces and disaster. Early in the year the city was terrorized by the fire worshipping cult, the Fire-Men, who unleashed their Fire-Monsters on the city until they were destroyed by the Human Torch. Later the Torch also stopped the Nazi spy known as Pinhead and learned of a plot by the Imperial Japanese Army to dig a tunnel to Alaska and went to thwart it. At this same time, criminal Karl Schwab attempted to get revenge against the city for his incarceration. To this end, he constructed large dynamos beneath the city and used them to electrify entire streets, committing acts of mass murder. Schwab was ultimately slain by the Angel, who put a stop to his operation. The city was then briefly taken over by a terrorist group known as the Yellowshirts in a bid to take over the entire United States. The organization was dismantled by the Patriot who helped to restore control of the city. After order was restored, Nazi spies attempted to steal the city's supply of radium. This was recovered by the Sub-Mariner who needed it to cure his ailing people. The Nazi operative known as the Brain also framed the Human Torch for acts of sabotage, before the hero and his partner Toro cleared his name. At the same time, local industrialists were being murdered by Nazi spies and the costumed villain known as the Cat's Paw. The Cat's Paw and her Nazi benefactors were eventually stopped by the Angel. The New York became a popular target for mass destruction, first with Red Skull impersonator George Maxon attacking the city with his massive drill tank before being stopped and slain by Captain America and Bucky, the Nazi operative known as the Lord of Death operated out of the Bowery, and attempted to turn the homeless population into an army of Zombies to unleash on the city. This plot was also stopped by Captain America and Bucky. Other criminals active during this period included the arsonist Hawk Rivers and the Nazi Mad Violinist whom were stopped by the Human Torch and the Patriot respectively. The Sub-Mariner also returned to the city during one of his more peaceful moments to box at Madison Square Garden against boxer Killer Casey. Following the formation of the Young Allies, the group was active in New York and attempted to protect British spy Agent Zero from the real Red Skull but failed. Captain America and Bucky also defended the Brooklyn Badgers baseball team from the Black Toad. One of the most devastating disasters to hit New York City in 1941 happened when the Sub-Mariner was once again convinced to wage war against the surface world. One account suggests that the Human Torch convinced the Sub-Mariner to cease his attack, however this was likely a fictional account of the true events. In reality, many of the cities heroes came to the rescue of the flood ravaged citizens of New York while the Human Torch and Sub-Mariner battled it out. Ultimately, with Captain America's aid, the Sub-Mariner was knocked out and taken prisoner, ending his attack. 1942 In the following year, New York experienced a surge in threats by both costumed villains and Axis agents, such as Nazi saboteur the Saint, weapons dealer Izan, the insane serial-killer known as the Javelin, the Metal Mobsters, and Nazi spy Captain von Spitz, who operated from a secret hideout on Coney Island. All these threats were stopped by the Human Torch and his partner Toro. Meanwhile, the Patriot stopped Nazi spies attempting to disrupt unionised boat workers, the Angel shut down cult leader and Japanese spy Hutsu the Sandman before he could steal military secrets, and the Young Allies chased yet another Japanese spy named Khan out of New York. The New York City area was also terrorized by the Demon before he was buried beneath the city by boy adventurer Davey Drew and the mystical Prince of Good. However, the Demon eventually broke free of his underground prison and rampaged across the country again. One of the more unusual attacks on New York came from Nazi spy Fritz Krone who orchistrated a hoax that the surface world was going to be invaded by creatures called the "Earth Men" (really Nazi agents), with the invasion beginning in New York. The hoax caused panic in the streets of New York, until it was exposed by Captain America and Bucky. The most devastating attack on New York that year was when the Nazis had the Python use a device to boost the Human Torch's powers and turn him evil. On top of unleashing the unstable Torch on the city, the Nazis also launched a full out invasion of the city. This was repelled by the Sub-Mariner, Toro and the Human Torch's inventor Professor Phineas Horton. After being restored to normal, the Torch and Toro worked to repel the invasion while the Sub-Mariner drowned and strangled the Python to death in New York Harbour. Nazi spies the Great Astro and J-97 also attempted acts of sabotage on the city but were stopped by the Patriot and Human Torch respectively. 1943 As American involvement increased in the war, Axis forces increased the number of assaults and acts of sabotage on New York City, with no lasting results. Attempts by Nazi agent Mr. Thos to sabotage radio relays in New York were thwarted by the Whizzer and his side-kick Slow Motion Jones. Attempts to spread anti-war propaganda by Hitler's operative the Reaper were equally thwarted by Captain America and Bucky. Coney Island continued to be the choice operating location for a number of Nazi spies such as Von Goober. An attempt to replace dummy rounds for an air raid test with live ammunition by Nazi spies was likewise thwarted by the Human Torch and Toro. While Nazi spy Bull Neck's attempt to compromise the security along New York Harbour was thwarted by the Sub-Mariner. Other Nazi's active in New York during this year included the Great Varda (stopped by Captain America), saboteur Karl Gluten, the spying Cobra (both stopped by the Sub-Mariner), weapons inventor Herr Wolf (stopped by the Human Torch), and scientist Dr. Groitzig who empowered reporter Mary Morgan before he was stopped by the Patriot . After incident, Mary became active as a New York super-hero, Miss Patriot. Not all threats to the city were related to Nazi spies, as was the case when Wall Street was terrorized by the sewer dwelling serial killer known as the Sewer Man until he was stopped by the Torch and Toro. 1944 In 1944, New York City was victim to a series of arsons by a Japanese spy named Nogatmi who was posing as Chinese "fire god" Ching Toy and manipulating the local Chinese community until he was stopped by Captain America and Bucky. The New York City water supply was also likewise threatened by Nazi operative the Leopard Woman who was also stopped by Cap and Bucky. During this time Nazi spies were also actively threatening the surviving family members of American soldiers killed overseas, using personal information gleaned from stolen dog tags until they were stopped by the Human Torch and Toro. Nazis also targeted the security of New York Harbour again using U-Boats disguised as tugboats until they were stopped by the Sub-Mariner. A similar mode of attack was also stopped by the Angel. The Angel also stopped Nazi operative Siegfried Kunz who murdered prominant German-American immigrants in the city. Local sports were also not safe from Nazi spies, as Fritz Mueller had infiltrated the New York Blue Socks baseball team until he was captured by Toro. Shortly thereafter, a group of Nazis calling themselves the Hours planted bombs in various clock towers around the city, destroying the ones at Grand Central Station and the Trysler Building before they were stopped by the Torch and Toro. The flaming duo also stopped Nazi agent the Wolf from flooding New York and other cities with counterfeit money in the hopes of collapsing the American economy and creating racial strife between African-American and Caucasians. Torch and Toro also stopped group of Nazis who were causing earthquakes in Manhattan with a drilling device. The New York area was also inundated with more mundane crimes which were handled by the newly empowered Miss America, who stopped such foes as the electric eel powered Shocker and Murder Inc. who preyed on the city's homeless. Post-War With the end of the war, dangers in New York were reduced to mostly domestic crimes, such as mob activity, robberies and murders. Heroes such as the Human Torch, Toro, Sub-Mariner, the Angel and Miss America were still very much active in the area. 1945 also saw the Destroyer come to New York to fight domestic crime for a time, as well as Captain America and Bucky replacements William Nasland and Fred Davis Jr. In 1946, with the end of the war, the regular defenders of New York City found themselves tackling more domestic crime. Captain America and Bucky prevented an national crime spree led by the Robe who got his start in New York City. While the Human Torch and Toro combated a range of crimes from the mundane such as an organized ring of bicycle thieves to the dangerous, such as when they tracked down the notorious Hunchback Killer. The Queen of Crime attempted to romance the Human Torch to continue her New York crime spree, but the hero stopped her. After the death of William Nasland, Jeffrey Mace was selected by the United States government to replace him as the next Captain America. As part of his civilian cover, Mace was placed at New York's Lee School as a teacher, along with Betsy Ross and Fred Davis posing as a student. As Captain America and Bucky, Mace and Davis defended New York from the Modern Day Robin Hood and Amazo the Magician. 1946 saw the formation of the All-Winners Squad out of the remaining members of the Invaders and Liberty Legion, backed by the government they were stationed in New York City. The city was soon terrorized by the Future Man and Madame Death but they were defeated when the All-Winners Squad shunted Future Man's time ship into the distant past. Madame Death returned soon after to get revenge against the Squad due to the fact that Future Man died of disease in the distant past. Using the Future Man's technology she laid siege to Times Square, until the All-Winners defeated her. The aftermath of the battle saw their headquarters destroyed, and the All-Winners soon relocated to their new headquarters the Baxter Building. 1947 saw former OSS agent Mark Mason open a private detective agency in the New York City area. Along with him came his former OSS secretary Louise Grant who was secretly the Blonde Phantom. 1947 was a more tame year for the City, menaced only by traditional criminals. The only remaining heroes active in the region during this time were Captain America, Bucky, the Human Torch, Toro, the Sub-Mariner and his new sidekick Namora, and the Blonde Phantom. The city however also saw an increase in costumed criminals such as the Human Fly, the Mad Hatter, the Howling Mummy, Bullfrog, Laughing Boy, the Green Mask Killer among others. In each of these cases, the villains were brought to justice by New York City's remaining costumed defenders. The greatest threat to the city that year came from the Tinfish who sank ships in New York Harbour and attempted to kill his brother, a wealthy shipping company owner, in order to obtain the family fortune so he could fund an attempt to resurrect the defeated Nazi party. He was stopped by the Sub-Mariner and Namora, who also rounded up a number of escaped Nazis war criminals who were working with the Tinfish. 1948 saw some drastic changes and renewed threats to the city that became more and more supernatural in nature as the year progressed. While the regular mundane costumed criminals such as the Matador, the Jester, the Turtle, Omar and his Dummy continued to threaten the city, the local heroes were able to stop them quickly. The game changed when anti-semitic criminal Lavender seriously wounded Captain America's partner Bucky. Captain America replaced him with Betsy Ross as his sidekick Golden Girl. Shortly thereafter, mad scientist Ignatius Fowler caused the men of New York City and around the world into a coma in order to force the Blonde Phantom to marry him. Blonde Phantom unleashed the antidote, leading to Fowler being institutionalized. Around this time, previously retired super-hero Sun Girl came out of retirement and defended New York from Dr. Drearr who unleashed creatures from the ocean depths on the city. Shortly thereafter, Sun Girl became the Human Torch's partner. Also at this time the Olympian goddess Aphrodite returned to Earth to experience mortal love. She began working at Beauty Magazine run by Whitney Hammond. The first extraterrestrial threat came to New York City in this year when invaders from the dimension of Uncara attempted to invade Earth, causing massive destruction to New York until they were driven off by Sun Girl. New York City was also where circus owners brought the recently captured giant ape named Bokk the Beast. The creature broke free and rampaged through the city until Sun Girl and the military killed the beast. New York was also at risk when the Olympian god Apollo came to Earth to force Venus to return home to Olympus with him as her lover. When she refused, Apollo forced the sun to stay up 24 hours a day until Venus tricked him into returning to Olympus and restore Earth to normal. In 1949, as most of the United States feared the threat of the Cold War, New York City faced much more bizarre dangers. That year a number of prominent New Yorkers were kidnapped by Kall a time traveler from the future of Earth-49121. They were rescued and returned to their own time by the Blonde Phantom. Following this, the Earth and New York in particular was invaded by so-called Martians led by Warlord Oog when they were brought to Earth by Professor Kluto in a misguided attempt to unite the countries of the world by creating an intergalactic threat to unify them all. The invasion force was forced back thanks to Captain America and Golden Girl. Another invasion happened shortly thereafter, this time from the two-dimensional world of Flatula, who kidnapped a number of New York's landmarks and prominent citizens. The Human Torch and Sun Girl traveled to Flatula and rescued the stolen items and people. New York and the rest of the world was scorched when the villain Iron Brain threatened to send the Earth into the sun. This plot was foiled by the Sub-Mariner and Namora. 1949 also saw various Olympian gods appearing in New York due to Aphrodite living there. These included Zeus and Hera . Venus also brought the Biblical Samson to New York for a brief period as well. Other threats to New York that year included the release of a fully grown Tyrannosaurus Rex named Tyranno who went on a rampage through New York. The creature was attacked by the military, Captain America and Golden Girl, who mortally wounded the creature. Lastly, Wolf Turbin of Earth-TRN215, began his attempts to conquer the Earth in 1949 but he was forced to flee into the past when Captain America confronted him. 1950s In 1950, Apollo returned to New York City once more to try and win the heart of Venus, finding his body temporarily stuck in the body of Beauty Magazine artist Marvin Klee, before Venus returned him to his own body. New York was later terrorized by a tornado created by Loki's son, the so-called Son of Satan who attempted to force Venus to be his lover. Venus deflected the tornado and trapped the Son of Satan in a fireball and left it circling the Earth. New York was once more scorched when the Earth was sent hurtling into the sun, this time by scientist and jilted lover Michael Templar, Venus once more prevented this catastrophic event. Also during this year, Uranian came to Earth as ambassador to the Uranian Eternals. He relocated to New York City where he was convinced to boost his PR with comic books based on his exploits by an artist working for Timely Comics, and changed his name to Marvel Boy. In July of 1950, Communist spies were plotting to sabotage the infrastructure of New York City in order to throw the city into a panic. This plot was uncovered by the Secret Service who sent their agent Kent Blake to stop the attack from happening. In 1951, the city experienced relatively few disasters, but when they did occur they were massive, such as when embittered former soldier and inventor John Dark unleashed and army of mechanized tanks to attack the city. Venus stopped Dark with the assistance of the Asgardian thunder god Thor and the Olympian war god Mars. When three member of the massive Undersea Titans came to New York City to explore the surface world they became inert when their moisture dried up, causing a panic. When Venus learned why the creatures had come she informed the authorities. The military deemed the Undersea Titans a threat and attempted to bomb the creatures to no effect. A sudden rainstorm caused the Titans to return to life and they rampaged through the city until the rain began to stop, forcing the Undersea Titans to retreat back into the ocean. Kent Blake later returned to the state to stop a counterfeit operation carried out by communist agents seeking to ruin the US economy. Kent Blake returned to New York City in 1953 when he stopped Communist spy Joseph Wolfe from constructing rocket generators that were then smuggled into Russia. By late 1953, New York City saw the return of the Human Torch, Toro, the Sub-Mariner and a new Captain America and Bucky active in the city again. The first such recorded incident occurred when Cap and Bucky stopped the new Red Skull from taking over the UN Building. Shortly thereafter the Torch and Toro stopped the age reversing Dr. Markov who manipulated the cities elderly and the Sub-Mariner defending New York's beaches from the alien Shark People. Namor later defended mothballed military ships in New York Harbor from communist subs while the Torch and Toro stopped the Jet's city wide looting scheme. While in Chinatown, Captain America and Bucky stopped communist agent the Man With No Face. While the Torch and Toro stopped a city wide diamond theft scheme, Captain America and Bucky stopped the communist Electro and stopped communist agent Chuck Blayne from blowing up the UN Building. Shortly thereafter Cap and Bucky thwarted the Red Skull and Electro's attack on the UN Building in a failed bid to obtain Hitler's strong box. New York was later terrorized by a robot duplicate of the Sub-Mariner created by his rival Byrrah, but Namor destroyed the robot and cleared his name. In 1955, New York harbor was attacked by communist agents, who were later stopped by the Sub-Mariner. Also active in the area was the hypnotist known as El Diablo, also stopped by the Sub-Mariner. Shortly thereafter, the Sub-Mariner came to New York with an Atlantean entourage to seek admission into the United Nations, they were forced to retreat when they were attacked by a mob of bigoted New Yorkers. Not long after that, following his defeat at the hands of Destiny, the Sub-Mariner returned to New York, stricken with amnesia and wandered the streets of New York for decades with no memory of who he once was. 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s Modern Era References Category:Expanded History